Why would people be upset about a new cat allergy vaccine? While it sounds nice, the issue they’re having is the idea of a perfectly healthy cat getting a vaccine that helps humans, and not themselves. Or does it?
What do you think? Read on to find out more about it.
Saying Goodbye to Sniffles Comes at a Cost
The thing about cat allergies is that 1 in every 10 people are allergic, and scientists have developed a new vaccination that could help these people own a cat for the first time in their life without worrying about sniffles and sneezes. But at what cost? Is it really worth your cat getting a shot as a stuffy nose remedy?
The shot in question is called the Hypocat vaccine, and scientists have been working on it for nearly a decade. It works by neutralizing a protein in the cat’s body that causes allergies in humans, called Fel-d1. The way it works is by triggering the cat’s immune system to attack those proteins (usually found attached to a cat’s skin, fur and dander) and destroy them.
In a study that was conducted, which will be published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that all cats (54 of them to be exact) who were injected with the vaccine went on to produce antibodies that were capable of destroying Fel-d1.
Why are People Upset, Isn’t This a Good Thing?
There are definite pros and cons to this new vaccine. The bad news that people are upset about is the idea of a perfectly healthy cat having their body altered in order to accommodate a human’s needs.
However, a cat having this vaccination might lead to more adoptions, as people who couldn’t adopt them before would finally be able to, and people not giving up on their cats when they find out that they’re allergic.
The vaccine is expected to become available within the next three years, according to Daily Mail.
